Born in Fukui Graduated from Tokyo Visual Arts College
Have you ever accidentally locked eyes with a stranger and it scared you? What if they kept staring at you when passing by? What if it never stopped? Is the gaze friendly, or are there some other reasons? The one being watched is clearly of interest to the watchers. The person will be chased by their thoughts that we could never know. We have come up with a thought that everyone wants to escape from awareness, which would eat you away.
AMI NAKAYA
Born in Ishikawa Graduated from Kanazawa College of Art Joined HAKUHODO INC. PRIZE Yahoo! JAPAN internet creative awards Grand Prix, etc.
You cannot see, hear, feel, smell nor taste it - but it tells you that someone is looking at you. A “gaze” is a very strange sensation. This “gaze” is unbearably disturbing and frightening. Particularly, Japanese people tend to feel this way. Maybe this is because we feel that our inner-self is being exposed, or the thoughts of others are invading you, when gazed. We expressed the inescapable fear of gaze, with the photographs of a woman, not doing anything but just gazing at you with wistful eyes. You do want to escape from the gaze, but somehow you cannot resist looking at it. Caught between your curiosity and your desire of escape, you cannot look away-just like when you are caught by the irresistible beauty and fear of Japanese ghost paintings.